LEAN APPLICATION IN A JOP SHOP: A CASE STUDY OF TYRE MOLD PLANT

Abstract

Lean methodology is a powerful continuous improvement method which is a combination of the many popular continuous improvement tools. However, Lean techniques are not much applied to manufacturers which produce high variety products, especially in the job shop production. This research focuses on the development and implementation of modified Lean methodology to improve production lines in a job shop manufacturing setting. Problems in the job shop production have been identified and the modified Lean methodology for job shop production has been developed. A case study in a tyre mold plant was used to validate the successful implementation of this modified Lean methodology to reduce lead time and setup time in job shop production. Application of our modified Lead approach leads to process improvement, reducing lead time by 58.55 percent at the milling station and by 64.53 percent at the plaster station. Process times at the milling and plaster stations were reduced by 69.65 and 6.58 percent, while setup times of both milling and plaster stations were reduced by 29.47 and 20.83 percent, respectively. The results obtained from this study can be applied to other process improvement endeavors. Finally, process improvement guidelines have been developed.